Conventionally, a game system is known that uses, in combination, a general television apparatus (first video output apparatus) and a controller (second video output apparatus) having a display section capable of outputting video which is provided separately from the television apparatus. In such a game system, for example, a first game video is displayed on the television apparatus, and a second game video different from the first game video is displayed on the display section of the controller, thereby proposing a new pleasure.
However, the above proposal does not focus on what video to display mainly or how to associate these videos with game processing upon displaying them. Therefore, the proposal does not particularly mention or suggest processing relevant to sound.
Therefore, the exemplary embodiments are to describe an information processing system, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having stored therein an information processing program, an information processing control method, and an information processing apparatus, that can provide a new experience giving a user a visual and audio effect with an enhanced realistic sensation, with respect to music reproduced from a sound source in virtual space. It is noted that, as used herein, the computer readable storage medium may include, for example, a magnetic medium such as flash memory, ROM, RAM, or an optical medium such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or DVD-RAM.
The above feature can be achieved by the following configurations, for example.
As an exemplary configuration, an information processing system including an information processing section, a first speaker, and a second speaker will be shown. The information processing system includes a music data separating section, a sound source object placing section, a virtual microphone placing section, and a sound output control section. The music data separating section separates predetermined music data composed of two channels into first channel music data and second channel music data. The sound source object placing section places a first sound source object associated with one of the first channel music data and the second channel music data, and a second sound source object associated with the other one of the first channel music data and the second channel music data, at respective different positions in a virtual 3-dimensional space. The virtual microphone placing section places a virtual microphone at a predetermined position in the virtual 3-dimensional space. The sound output control section determines the reproduction volume of the first channel music data and the second channel music data reproduced from the first loudspeaker, and the reproduction volume of the first channel music data and the second channel music data reproduced from the second loudspeaker, based on the direction of the virtual microphone placed in the virtual 3-dimensional space and the positional relationship between the virtual microphone and each of the first sound source object and the second sound source object placed in the virtual 3-dimensional space.
According to the above exemplary configuration, it becomes possible to provide an experience with an enhanced realistic sensation to a user, with respect to reproduction of a BGM emitted from a sound source in a virtual space.
The information processing system may further include a first output apparatus, an orientation detection section, and a virtual microphone orientation changing section. The first output apparatus may have a housing provided with a motion sensor, the first loudspeaker, the second loudspeaker, and a first display section on which the virtual 3-dimensional space is displayed. The orientation detection section may detect the orientation of the first output apparatus based on output from the motion sensor in real time or substantially in real time. The virtual microphone orientation changing section may change the direction of the virtual microphone in accordance with the orientation of the first output apparatus.
According to the above exemplary configuration, in a game or the like in which a player changes the orientation of the first output apparatus having two loudspeakers and thereby display of the virtual space on the first display section is changed, a BGM emitted from a sound source object can be reproduced with an enhanced realistic sensation.
The information processing system may further include a loudspeaker position relationship recognizing section configured to recognize the positional relationship between the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker based on the orientation of the first output apparatus. The sound output control section may determine the reproduction volume of the first channel music data and the second channel music data outputted from the first loudspeaker, and the reproduction volume of the first channel music data and the second channel music data outputted from the second loudspeaker, based on the positional relationship between the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker as well as on the direction of the virtual microphone placed in the virtual 3-dimensional space and the positional relationship between the virtual microphone and each of the first sound source object and the second sound source object placed in the virtual 3-dimensional space.
According to the above exemplary configuration, a sound emitted by the sound source object in the virtual space can be expressed such that the positional relationship between loudspeakers in the real world is reflected in the sound.
The information processing system may further include a second output apparatus having a third loudspeaker, a fourth loudspeaker, and a second display section. The sound output control section may determine the reproduction volume of each loudspeaker based on the positional relationship among the first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker of the first output apparatus, and the third loudspeaker and the fourth loudspeaker of the second output apparatus.
According to the above exemplary configuration, it becomes possible to perform sound output with an enhanced realistic sensation by using a first pair of loudspeakers of the first output apparatus which can be used as a game controller, and a second pair of loudspeakers of the second output apparatus which can be used as a monitor, for example. For example, sound output with respect to the up-down direction as seen from a player is assigned to the loudspeakers of the first output apparatus, and sound output with respect to the right-left direction as seen from the player is assigned to the loudspeakers of the second output apparatus, whereby the player can feel the presence of the virtual space, that is, feel a spatial sense.
The music data may be stereo music data composed of two channels. The first loudspeaker and the second loudspeaker may be a pair of stereo speakers.
According to the above exemplary configuration, music emitted from the sound source objects placed along the right-left direction in the virtual space can be expressed with an enhanced realistic sensation without causing a player to feel strangeness.
According to the exemplary embodiments, it becomes possible to perform sound output with an enhanced realistic sensation, with respect to a sound emitted by a sound source object present in a virtual space.